Episode Addition: Series Three, Episode Four
by Julie Ann Pope
Summary: Set during Series Three, Episode Four. Gill/Julie femslash.


**Episode Addition 3.4**

**Author's Note:** Set during Series Three, Episode Four. Gill/Julie femslash. Unbetaed; may be re-uploaded once it has been.

Everyone in Syndicate Nine had been sent home for the evening, or at least what was left of it. Criminals didn't usually stop to think that police officers had families or lives that they'd like to be getting on with occasionally. DCI Gill Murray shut down the computer in her office and started to gather her things together to take home. Her colleague, temporary boss and best friend Julie Dodson slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way out of the room into the main office. Gill shoved her empty tupperware container into her bag and grabbed her jacket off the peg.

"Hang on a sec Julie!" she called out to her friend and turned off the lights in her office before catching up with the older woman in the main office. "Are you not staying over tonight?" Gill sounded disappointed, as though she'd been looking forward to it all day.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, not while we're on this case together." Julie didn't sound too certain; she was torn between being professionally cautious and what she really wanted to do. However, as SIO of their current investigation, she felt she had a duty to push aside her personal life at least for the duration of the case.

"Just to sleep. We're both shattered and I've missed you." Gill softened considerably from the 'Godzilla' persona her team often found themselves on the receiving end of.

"I've missed you too but we both know it won't be 'just' anything." Julie saw the disappointment on Gill's face and put her bag down on the desk beside her. She took her lover's face in her hands and kissed her soundly. Gill kissed back with equal fervour and knew in her heart of hearts that she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off Julie if they spent the night together. They rested their foreheads against each other while they got their breath back. "When this is over I promise we'll spend some proper time together, perhaps have a bit of time off?" Gill nodded against Julie's forehead before she peppered her cheeks with smaller, more delicate kisses.

"Come on, we'd better be going." Julie picked up her bag from the desk she'd dumped it on; Janet's judging by the photographs of the two teenage girls that were sitting on it, and held her hand out to Gill before they finally left the office together.

DC Rachel Bailey let out the breath she had been holding since she'd realised that she wasn't alone. She had sneaked back into the office thinking that everyone had long since gone home when DSI Julie Dodson had walked out of Godzilla's office. She'd wedged herself into a dark corner and hoped that neither of her bosses thought to turn the lights back on. She hadn't quite expected the passionate and surprising display of affection that she had accidentally borne witness to. Later, as she settled down to sleep, Rachel thought that it made some sort of sense the two older women had found something romantic and comforting in each other. They had been friends for a long time and she knew that Godzilla had been badly let down by her ex, something Rachel herself had a fair understanding of. However, she was also quite excited by the thought that she had some really interesting gossip for her best friend and colleague DC Janet Scott. Funny that just as she could feel herself drifting off she received a phone call from said friend needing her assistance on an urgent matter.

* * *

As Rachel helped Janet to deal with a very drunk Helen Bartlett a short while later, she eagerly struck up a conversation about what she had witnessed. They bundled the vulnerable woman into the back of her car and started to drive to the bed and breakfast she had organised. Janet drove as Rachel kept half an eye on Helen.

"Jan, did you know Godzilla's been seeing someone?" Janet wasn't quite sure why Rachel would be interested or even why she had brought the subject up now but she answered her question anyway. She was used to Rachel coming out with seemingly odd and irrelevant things by now.

"I knew she'd been seeing that younger bloke, Chris whatshisface, but as far as I know it was a short-lived fling. What makes you ask?" Janet had known Gill a long time and she had seen what her husband's infidelity had done to her confidence. They didn't touch deeply on personal matters often but she knew enough. A little bit of attention from a much younger and very fit bloke had come along at just the right time.

"I saw her with someone and it looked quite serious."

"Well good for her, she deserves some happiness in her life." Rachel glanced behind her to check on Helen in the back of the car. She was dozing lightly as a result of her earlier vodka binge. Rachel lowered her voice a notch anyway.

"No, you don't understand, it's someone we know. Are you sure you don't know or are you being deliberately obtuse?" Many people thought that Janet and Gill were a lot closer than they actually were. Probably because Gill's standoffish persona tended to be all that people saw, except for Janet who could relate to her as a mother and as someone else whose marriage had failed.

"Rach, what _are_ you talking about?" Sometimes Janet had the patience to indulge Rachel on her tangents and whims, but not at one in the morning with a drunk suspect/witness to deal with.

"It's Dodson." Janet took her eyes off the road for a split second and stared at Rachel in surprise; that wasn't quite what she had been expecting to hear.

"As in Detective Super Indendent...?"

"Yup." Rachel cut her off and answered with a certain smugness in her voice.

"What did you see?" Janet's interest was now piqued and she was excited at the prospect of some real gossip, even if it was about her friend.

"They were on their way out of the office, Godzilla invited Dodson back to her place but she said they shouldn't because of the case and then Dodson snogged the face off her! They even left holding hands." Janet's eyebrows rose to the ceiling.

"Well, I'm surprised but I still say good on them. We should keep quiet about this though, especially at the moment." Janet indicated the body on the backseat with a nod of her head.

In the back of the car, despite her alcohol induced haze, Helen inwardly smiled to herself; this gave her plenty of ammunition should the need arise…

**Two days later.**

"Hiya Slap!" Gill chirpily answered her desk phone having recognised the number from the caller ID display.

"We've been summoned by 'er on high." Julie sounded as thrilled as she usually did when Karen Zalinski was involved as it usually meant some sort of bother she'd rather not be involved in.

"What, both of us? You're in charge of this investigation; when you say jump

I just ask how high." Gill had no problem deputising for her lover, they'd done it a few times before as friends and it didn't feel any different this time around. They worked exceptionally well together and had similar ways of thinking and processing information which helped immensely.

"I know but that's what she requested. Besides, we're not going to her, she's coming to us, or more specifically you." Gill could hear the steady clicking of Julie's heels on what was presumably the hallowed halls of MMP's HQ in central Manchester. Julie was more naturally inclined towards the tomboy side of the spectrum, particularly in her non-work attire, but she did have a bit of a thing for shoes.

"Is it about whichever officer has been leaking information to the press? I thought professional standards were covering that aspect?" In all honesty Gill was quite relieved to have been forced to hand over that investigation; she hated casting suspicion over any of her team and it made working beside them everyday more difficult. By having that bit of distance she could compartmentalise the issue and put it to the back of her mind until the culprit had been found.

"She didn't give me a clue. She'll be there at ten, I'm on my way over now."

* * *

Assistant Chief Constable Karen Zalinski shut the door to Gill's office firmly and turned to her subordinates. The rest of Syndicate Nine immediately broke out into an excited frenzy of gossip after the formidable woman had shut them out of whatever was going on. Julie was a confident detective who did whatever was necessary to get a job done. She had spent inordinate amounts of time with corpses in various states of decay, drunks, drug addicts and sex workers of all kinds and had not wavered in the slightest. Any contact with her superior officer and she was usually turned into a quivering wreck and gibberish-speaking fool. Gill had said it was because Karen had a PHD in criminal psychology which equated to a very intimidating personality. Julie knew better. It was their job to read criminals like a book, despite a very convincing act otherwise, and she had always been frightened that it would be reflected back at her one day. She hated to be on the back foot when it came to any given situation.

"We've had a complaint that you're not fit to conduct this investigation due to a conflict with your personal circumstances." It wasn't absolutely clear to whom she was addressing, although Gill was in her immediate line of sight.

"Eh?" Gill couldn't be more confused. If anyone had conflicting personal circumstances it would be Janet due to the fact that she lived across the road from the 'house of horror.' She also had none of Julie's reservations about conversing with their ACC and had spoken aloud on instinct.

"I am led to believe that you're involved with each other on a personal level?" This time she had turned fully towards Julie and looked directly at her.

"We've known each other for more than fifteen years; Gill's my best friend." Karen raised her eyebrow as she looked at Gill for confirmation.

"That's exactly right." Gill's confident stance showed in the way that she held her head high so that her chin jutted forward ever so slightly. Julie wished she had even half that amount of confidence in this situation.

"And what if I told you I have reason to believe that you're more than friends, that you're actually involved in a sexual relationship with each other?" At their level of seniority and the obvious seriousness of the situation, both Gill and Julie knew that they couldn't keep up the pretence any longer and shared a look of mutual agreement. It could be that their careers were on the line; that is if they weren't already.

"That is also true but how did you find out? We've been together for over nine months and we've worked very hard at being discreet." Julie still couldn't understand what the issue was, interpersonal relationships were commonplace on the force and Gill was not a direct subordinate of Julie's.

"I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to disclose that information."

"Can I ask what the problem is Ma'am? Our private relationship should have no bearing on how we work together on this case." Gill was quite incensed at the probe into her personal life. She'd always been very careful to keep it separate from the job, even though the two had been intrinsically linked from almost the first day she started on the force.

"It shouldn't no, but when the chief witness and possible suspect is also of the same…_persuasion_…then it could be seen as a conflict of interest." The way Karen had said persuasion got Julie's back up, it was clear she had a _personal_ issue with her sexuality but she had to give the appearance of being inclusive in her professional capacity.

"Eh?" It took a few seconds for Gill to process what Karen was getting at. "Because Helen's a lesbian?! I'm sorry Ma'am but I really can't see what that has to do with anything. If I was in straight relationship you wouldn't be doing this, in fact a couple of years ago I worked a case under my ex-husband. You can't tell me that these circumstances are much different?"

"Be that as it may, Miss Bartlett has made a complaint about her personal information having been leaked to the press and a lack of sensitivity due to her sexuality." If she was anywhere near this intimidating with her own team, Gill suddenly seemed to understand why Rachel had taken to calling her Godzilla behind her back.

"I can guarantee that it has never been an issue during the course of this investigation, in fact I would have said we have dealt with things more sensitively if anything. DC's Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey have taken personal responsibility over Helen's welfare." Despite all evidence to the contrary, Julie quite liked Rachel and saw what Gill did in her potential. She was just disappointed that her crazy personal life had interfered with her progression and focus.

"Be that as it may, I have to be seen to be taking positive action. I also need to have continuity, therefore I have taken the decision to keep Julie on as Senior Investigating Officer and temporarily suspend you Gill. You'll receive full pay until the case has been concluded." There wasn't even a hint of emotion from Karen, as though she had been tasked with delivering the news, cold as you like, and leave them to manage the fallout.

"What?! You can't do that, I've done nothing wrong!" Gill often defended her syndicate to the hilt but she had never had to do it on her own behalf.

"Wait, the case originated with Syndicate Nine, if anyone should be the one to go it's me." Julie offered sincerely, plus she thought that Karen would much prefer to suspend her over Gill.

"I've made my decision. This will have no bearing on your disciplinary record Gill."

"And what do I tell my team? I'm not prepared to disclose my personal life but I don't want them to get the wrong end of the stick and think that I've done something worthy of suspension. I lead by example and have their hard-won respect." With the possible exception of Kevin, but he was essentially a twelve year old boy in a man's suit.

"That's entirely up to you. I won't cause a scene by frog-marching you out of the building but I expect you to have left by this afternoon. Please hand your ID card and warrant to DSI Dodson as you leave." And with that, Karen breezed out of Gill's office as easily as she had breezed in, either unaware or uncaring of the destruction she had left behind her.

* * *

"What are you going to do?" Julie sat on the edge of Gill's desk and faced her lover who sat in her chair and looked up at her in a daze. They were as close as they could be without giving anything away about the true nature of their relationship or about the conversation they were having. Gill's office was strategically placed so that she could survey all she ruled, but the openness of the vast windows were sometimes a little too exposed.

"I haven't got much choice have I? If I tell that lot the truth are you going to be okay with it?" Julie was the one who would be made to bear the brunt of the fallout once Gill had begun her suspension and who knew which way her team would take the news?

"I'll follow your lead Gill, this is your syndicate." Julie hated that Gill had been forced into coming out before she was ready to but agreed that her team should be under no illusion of the truth behind her suspension. She didn't particularly care about what they thought of her personally although she would have preferred to have kept her personal life away from her immediate day job.

"Thanks love, I just hope they give you the respect you deserve."

**A short time later. **

"Right, as you may have gathered, we've had to call this meeting because of the Assistant Chief Con's earlier visit." Julie took a moment to look around the room at the expectant faces of Gill's team. She hoped that they weren't going to blame her for Gill's suspension and continue to work hard in order to wrap up the Bevan case. "Unfortunately she saw fit to suspend DCI Murray until the end of this investigation. Therefore from this moment I will be fully in charge and responsible for the day to day running of this syndicate." Much muttering and indignant outcry broke out amongst the team. Janet spoke up before anyone else could get a word in.

"What's going on Gill?" Gill looked at Julie and smiled as she obviously reached for her hand, laced their fingers together and rested them on the table in front of everyone.

"Julie and I have been involved in a personal relationship for several months. For whatever reason someone has made a complaint that it affects our ability to work this case together with impartiality."

"That's bang out of order!" Rachel blurted out.

"Yes, well, we're not saying we don't think so too but I didn't have much choice other than to accept the suspension. Believe you me, we _will_ fight this."

"Well you have my support." Rachel followed up.

"And mine." Janet agreed and then everyone on the team stood up and offered words of support. Gill put her free hand up to invite silence.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me, to both of us. Please give DSI Dodson your best work while I am away and it goes without saying your respect and full co-operation."

* * *

Gill was quite clearly upset about the suspension and Julie took it upon herself to feel inordinately guilty for putting her in the position in the first place. They stood outside the building, on the edge of the car park and to one side, as Gill prepared to leave for however long was required of her. They had stood in silence for a few moments, neither of them pushing the other to take that final step.

"Do you think we should end this?" Julie spoke low and quiet, as though she had been carefully considering her words.

"What?" Gill responded equally as measured, hoping that Julie hadn't meant what Gill half-thought she did.

"Us." It pained Julie to say it but since they had crossed the line of friendship into something else she had been half expecting the other shoe to drop at any given time.

"Do you want to?" Gill was surprised at the suggestion and worried that Julie had been looking for an excuse to end things between them.

"No…I just thought…I thought it might be the right thing to do. You love your job, I do too, so I understand what this means to you." Julie didn't have to imagine very hard to empathise with what Gill must have been feeling right at that moment.

"Look Julie, you've made me very happy these last few months and god knows it took us far too long to finally sort ourselves out. I'm not prepared to throw that all away when we both know that we've done nothing wrong." Some of Godzilla's passion poured out of Gill and Julie beamed with pride and relief.

"Good, because I'm not sure I could have done it even if you'd agreed."

"Yer daft cow!" Gill reached out and cupped Julie's face in her hands. They both leaned forward and their lips met in a firm kiss. They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Janet and Rachel stood grinning at them widely.

"Don't mind us," the pair said in unison. Julie and Gill giggled at having been caught, especially after having managed to keep their relationship quiet for so many months previously.

"I'll see you at home tonight?" Gill asked but hoped Julie had already been planning on spending the the night with her.

"Of course, I need to report on how your officers have spent the rest of the day giving me a hard time." Julie raised her eyebrows at the two women who were still blatantly eavesdropping.

"Who us? Nothing but the utmost respect Ma'am." Rachel cheekily responded with a mock salute.

"Keep that up Kid and she'll have you over her knee!" It slipped from Gill's lips before she'd even realised the implication of her words. Janet and Rachel looked at her in shock and watched as the crimson blush crept up her cheeks. "Oh for god's sake!" She kissed Julie once again and walked off towards her car. Rachel and Janet turned to Julie and stared her out until she could bear to tear her eyes away from Gill's retreating form.

"What?!" Although she was a bloody good detective she couldn't fathom why they continued to stare at her.

"You're good for her, despite whatever is going on right now. I don't think I've ever seen her this happy. In fact, I'd say it suits you too." Julie opened and closed her mouth like a fish as she floundered to find the right way to respond. Janet left her with that thought and dragged Rachel away before their temporary boss thought better of the situation and allocated them a crappy job for the next three hours.


End file.
